Is This Home?
by SteelLilly
Summary: Sequel to Where Is Home. Some time after Kristen returns from the Avatar world and moves on with her college life, she has an unexpected visitor. Secret groups and dangerous encounters stir up a deep question for her: is this really where she belongs?
1. Intro

Hello everyone! Today starts the sequel to Where Is Home… ingeniously named Is This Home … hah. Anyway, this story most likely won't be as long as the last one… but I'm going to have just as much fun writing it.

Don't forget to review, and let me know what you're thinking!


	2. ITH Chapter 1

Hey! Kristen here. You may remember me from last time… quite an interesting story right? Yeah, I thought so too. If it weren't for the fact that I still had my katana, clothes, and a few scars I would have thought my trip to the other world a dream.

After I returned home, life continued as it had before. Oddly enough, only about five minutes had elapsed during my trip, and after that… no more weird journeys to other worlds. Well, at least for a while.

At first, I retained most of my bending abilities. I could still water, earth, air, and fire bend and move objects. But after nearly a month back in my world it became harder and harder to bend the elements. It felt almost like I was trying to reach through a wall, or a chain link fence and all I could do was stick my fingers through a bit. Not long after that the only thing I could still do was move objects around and do my strange 'force field' thing.

I decided to keep anyone from knowing about my strange abilities since, you never know… I might become the object of much undesired attention. coughcrazyscientistscough

My best friend, Mikelle, and myself finished our last semester at our community college and decided to transfer to UNT and rent out a duplex. A girl I knew was graduating and planned on moving out of her home, so we decided to live in her old house.

We moved in smoothly, transferred our jobs to ones closer in the area, and before we knew it started our first semester at a real University. I must say, it was pretty fun. And… somewhat nerve-wracking.

My second strange story starts about three weeks into September. It was a Tuesday, and Mikelle and I had gone grocery shopping. Just then we were unloading our packages from her car while we debated Christmas decorations.

"… Just think! You can finally decorate for Christmas however you want to!" I called over my shoulder to Mikelle, grabbing a bag of groceries in one hand and my house key in the other.

Mikelle dug through the trunk of her car, grabbing two more bags. "Yeah, but that means we have to buy it all! We don't exactly have a ton of money you know."

I laughed. "True, but that's why we have jobs, and savings accounts! But I understand: maybe this year we'll just buy a few decorations. I mean, it's not like we're going to have the whole family over for a party."

Mikelle chuckled. "Hurry up and unlock the door, I'm not as strong as you are, my arms are getting tired already!"

I twisted the key in the lock and called back to her over my shoulder as I pushed the door open. "Oh whatever! You've got the lightest bags, you can grab two –"

A jet of flame rocketed toward me from inside the duplex's walkway. My fighting instincts kicked in, as well as my "preserve the house" instincts and I enveloped the flames in an invisible shield, throwing it out the door and away from our new home. Mikelle stood in shock outside on the walkway; she had never seen me use my powers before.

I turned to face my attacker, grocery bag in hand, but stopped and stared in surprise.

"Zuko!"

He stepped out of his fighting stance, confusion written on every part of his face. "Kristen?" he looked me up and down, noticing my obviously American clothes contrasted to his Fire Nation ensemble. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here!" I almost shouted. "And you nearly set my house on fire!"

"What are you doing back? You left!" He started to get that angry look in his eye again.

"Kristen…? What the heck is going on?" Mikelle stepped up to the doorway, peering through cautiously.

"Ah… um. This… oh man." I pressed my face into my hand in frustration. "This is going to take forever to explain." I turned to Zuko, who was eyeing my best friend strangely. "You aren't in your world any more. You're in mine. Mikelle, this is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation… Good thing we're not working tonight 'cause we're going to need a long time to get through this."

"…"

It took forever to explain the whole thing. Mikelle was of course, highly skeptical. Zuko accepted it much easier since he already knew about my world.

"You're joking right?" Mikelle asked for about the third time.

"_Not_ joking." I ran my fingers through my straightened hair in frustration. "I went to this other world where people can control different elements, there's some guy called the Avatar who controls all of them, and I had strange powers while I was there…" I glanced at Zuko. "That sound about right?"

He nodded. "I don't understand though. How am I in your world?"

"That's the thing, I don't really know! I don't even know how I got into _your_ world! I just… walked into it somehow."

I made my way into the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil. "Do either of you want tea?" Zuko grimaced.

"No thanks. I'll make myself some coffee." Mikelle got up and started the machine.

I smirked at Zuko. "I don't know why I even asked if you wanted some." He shot me a kind of glare: a not so angry, just annoyed glare. "Say, what were you doing before you came here?"

"I was attacking the Avatar. I finally caught up with him again, and just before I shot a blast of fire at him he blew a whirlwind at me. For a short time I couldn't see and fired blindly. That's when I ended up here."

"Odd."

"Indeed."

Mikelle laughed faintly. "You talk weird, you know that?"

Zuko's eyes flashed angrily. "I could say the same for you, peasant!"

Mikelle glared back at him.

"Okay stop it! I will _not_ have my two friends murdering each other. Okay?" I shot them both glares.

Just then the teapot began to whistle and Zuko leapt to his feet, looking around startled. "Zuko, relax. It's the teapot." I removed the shrieking pot and poured the water into my mug. "And Zuko?"

"Yes?"

"No Firebending. Not a single bit in public."

"Why? I didn't keep you from bending in my world."

"Well in _your _world it's normal for people to bend stuff. In _my _world people are normal and can't do weird stuff like we can."

"You mean you haven't bended at all while you've been home?"

I grinned mischievously. "I didn't say that… I just didn't let anyone see me. Only thing is, I can't control the elements any more. It's like I can't quite get to them."

Zuko looked puzzled. "Strange…"

"Yeah." I glanced at a clock. It had taken about an hour to explain all of this. "Oh crap the groceries!" I set my cup on the counter and ran out the door, followed closely by Mikelle.


	3. ITH Chapter 2

Two days had passed since Zuko had mysteriously appeared in our house. He'd been wearing his tunic and pants around inside; we finally convinced him to take off the armor, and Mikelle and I had managed to teach him how to use the necessities such as the shower and toilet. (shudder)

"Hey Kristen, come here!" Mikelle called from our living room. She was sitting on the couch, her laptop perched in her lap.

"Yup?"

I walked into the room, tossing a pair of big sweat pants and an old baggy shirt on a chair. Those would have to do until I could make time to take Zuko to the mall and buy him some… less conspicuous clothes.

"You said there was someone called the Avatar in that world right? And that Zuko was prince of the Fire Nation?"

"Yeah… why?"

She motioned to her computer screen. "Well… there's a cartoon show all about that. It even has a Prince Zuko, Aang, Katara, Sokka and… Appa or whatever." She read aloud the characters.

"What!" I rushed over, sitting next to her on the couch. Zuko came in from exploring my room, peering over the couch at the screen.

"See? It's all on Nickelodeon! It's a cartoon show for cryin' out loud!"

"What an odd portrait… I don't look like that!"

"You do in Anime." I muttered, still getting over the fact that the world I had been in was actually a cartoon show.

"What's this… "Zap Prince Zuko with your superior bending skills"? What kind of mockery is this!" Zuko pointed at the screen indignantly.

"Zuko!" I glared at him. "I'm trying to figure this out still. Please don't fry her computer. When does it come on?" I turned back to Mikelle.

"Um… it comes on this Friday at 7. Every Friday at that time."

I leaned back into the cushion, thinking. "Tomorrow night… This is so weird."

"I agree… are you sure it wasn't some sort of … reality TV show, or dream?"

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I'm sure. I have scars to prove it, and Zuko's here… he's real." He cleared his throat in the background as if to enforce my point.

"Well… I've got to head out. I've got to work in a bit. I'll see you around 10!"

"Alright, see you!"

Mikelle grabbed her stuff and left, closing the door and leaving the two of us in silence.

After a few minutes of silence, I looked up at Zuko who had been watching me.

"What."

He glanced away, an uncomfortable look on his face. "Nothing."

I grimaced. "I hope you're not mad about… that last time we talked." I felt my face getting slightly hotter.

Zuko's discomfort increased.

_I thought so_.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings in any way, and…" I blushed harder, "… I _do_ like you." I could feel his eyes turn to me. "But you just scared me."

"Then I'm sorry too." I smiled, still looking away.

Even though he stood behind the couch I was sitting on, I could feel him move closer. I cleared my throat suddenly.

"Here. Put these on, I'm taking you to get new clothes."

Zuko looked disdainfully at the oversized pants and shirt. "You expect me to wear this?"

"I do." I slid on sandals and grabbed my purse and keys. "If you think about how weird I looked in _my_ clothes in your world, just imagine how weird you must look in _my _world, in your clothes." I looked over his tunic, pants, and slightly curled shoes. A small smirk slid onto my face.

"What's that look for?" He asked suspiciously, beginning to take off his tunic.

"Just noticing your shoes. And not here!" I pointed behind me. "You change in the bathroom."

A few minutes later, Zuko emerged self-consciously tugging at the pants and shirt. He didn't look that bad: reminded me of a guy who was going to work out.

We got in my car and I showed Zuko how to buckle himself in.

"There. Always do that when you get in a car." I plugged the iTrip into my iPod, and turned it on to my usual driving selection.

"Why? And isn't that your… pod?"

"In case your car gets into an accident, you don't want to go flying through the window at say, 50 miles an hour. And yeah, it's my iPod."

"Fifty miles an hour!" Zuko looked freaked out.

"Well yeah! These things can go way faster than that."

Zuko looked fairly sick. I grinned.

"Don't worry, I'm a good driver. But I can't say the same for the rest of the world. Either way, if we do crash I'll keep you from flying out of the car. Force field, remember?" I peered over my shoulder and reversed down the driveway slowly, then turned onto the street and drove in the direction of the mall.

"Alright. I trust you." He became aware of the music softly playing in the background. "Where are the head phones?"

"Oh, I don't need them when I have this thing." I tapped the iTrip. "It transmits the sound through waves and onto a radio frequency. That's why I can listen to it through the radio." Zuko had a blank look on his face.

"Right."

I laughed, and Zuko even allowed his face to lighten up a little.

The mall was fairly close, so the trip took about a total of fifteen minutes to get there. Unfortunately for Zuko, this involved driving on the highway where I normally drive seventy. Let's just say… there was much fist clenching and white faces. Not to mention nervous flinches away from the nearby cars. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"Sorry for making you go through that, but that's how everyone gets around now." Zuko just nodded through gritted teeth and walked stiffly after me into the three-storied mall.

"Wow…" I glanced over my shoulder at Zuko who was standing still, staring at the sight before him with his mouth hanging open slightly. I turned back and looked at what was familiar to me as if through new eyes.

Hundreds of people, mainly teenagers, milled around the massive building. They were dressed oddly, and in so many different ways it was distracting and mind-boggling. Sunlight shone through the high glass dome ceiling, the floors were shining marble, and the many different stores presented samples of finely arranged goods. It looked like a palace.

I tore myself away from the sight, grabbing Zuko's arm. "Heh… we look stupid standing here. Come on… American Eagle first."

Zuko stood out like a sore thumb the minute we walked into the store.

"Hi! Welcome to American Eagle, let us know if there's anything we can help you find!" A girl smiled widely at us.

"Actually… yeah. He needs a new outfit." I motioned to a very uncomfortable Zuko. The girl grinned mischievously.

"Of course! I can see why. Do you know what size he is?" She led us over to the guys' pants section.

"No… afraid not."

"Hm…" The girl sized him up in her head, I'm sure the baggy clothes didn't help much. "Alright, try these two different sizes and we'll see from there." She handed him two… fairly expensive pairs of jeans… and we followed her to the dressing room. I grabbed him some boxers along the way.

"Alright," I whispered to him after the girl had left and Zuko stood just outside his dressing room door, "this is underwear. You wear it _under_ everything. Got it?" Zuko nodded, still embarrassed. I noticed this. "Zuko, relax. I was raised in a family with a majority of boys, and I lived on your ship with a hundred guys. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, these are jeans. This is the front… you zip this up and button it like this. Okay?"

He grabbed the clothes and shut the door quickly. After a moment, he offered apologetically "Got it."

A few minutes later he came out with the first pair, looking very self-conscious.

"Hey… they fit!" I noticed with surprise.

Zuko looked skeptical. "They're very … loose. And they're torn."

"That's just the style, you'll have to get used to it. But don't worry, I won't tolerate the half-way down the butt jeans."

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

Just then the girl came back.

"Oh they fit! Wonderful… alright if he fits in those size jeans, then he would probably need a medium size shirt. That is, if all those muscles can fit." The girl winked suggestively. Zuko looked flustered.

"Thanks. I think we can handle it from here." I could barely restrain my eye roll. After she was gone, I muttered under my breath angrily. "Are there _any_ decent girls in the world who can refrain from hitting on guys _while_ they're working?"

"Hitting on guys?" Zuko followed me through the men's section as I grabbed more clothes in his size.

"Yeah. Flirting, being suggestive, leading you on… all that jazz."

"I see…" He eyed the sales-girl suspiciously. Then, he noticed a few people in the store staring at him. "What are they looking at?"

I followed his gaze. "Um…" I glanced at Zuko. "Heh, they're probably noticing your weird hairstyle and … scar." I turned back to the clothes.

"What do you mean, weird hairstyle? My hair's perfectly fine!"

Smothering a laugh, I dragged Zuko back to the dressing room again. "Oh come on. If you haven't noticed, no one has hair like you. It's either bald, or more hair on the head."

A little over an hour later, I had bought Zuko two pairs of (inexpensive) jeans, about five different shirts, and some shoes. All the way back to the car Zuko would stare at the other teenagers around us, especially their hair.

"I've never seen so many people with the same color hair as you! And there are even other strange colors; like that girl, her hair is red! And that boy has black and white hair."

"Zuko, don't point. Yeah, the black and white hair isn't natural; he dyed it. But the red hair is probably natural." He stared at another very blond girl passing us. "And that was dyed too. That's _so_ not a natural color."

He sat in silence as I started to drive, clenching the sides of the chair. Finally he spoke. "Do you have to drive so fast?"

I sighed. "I suppose I could drive slower… it just gets on my nerves. And the other drivers hate getting stuck behind a slow driver. How does … ten miles per hour slower sound?"

Zuko nodded stiffly.

It took a little longer to get home, but the trip was finally over, much to Zuko's relief. I glanced at my watch.

"Only four. You want to go over to the school gym and spar? I haven't had someone to really kick butt on in about eight months." I grinned excitedly.

Amusement shone in Zuko's eyes. "Why not? A little friendly competition never hurt anyone."

"Awesome! Go change into your old clothes, no armor though. I've got some sparing swords too, since they won't let us use real ones."

I nearly skipped into my room and changed into some pants from Zuko's world, and a grey Under Armor shirt, then stuffed the wooden swords in a narrow duffel bag.

"Ready?"

"We don't have to drive the car, do we?" Zuko looked nervously at my car keys lying on the counter.

"Nah, we can walk. The gym is only a little less than a ten-minute walk from here."


	4. ITH Chapter 3

Zuko followed me around the back of the duplex and onto the campus grounds. We took one of the many walkways, passing students studying or socializing along the way until we finally reached the large gym building. I led the way through the walkways and past the weight rooms to the main desk. The building was pretty crowded for a Thursday, but I was pretty sure there would be a spare room.

"Hey, do you guys have an empty training room we could use?"

"Yeah, room… 109. Down that hallway."

"Thanks! Come on, Zuko."

A short walk later, we reached the fairly large, empty room. Three of the four walls were grey cement, but the third facing the hallway was made of glass. The floor was slightly padded, which would make rough landings less painful.

I was already smiling faintly in excitement of a fight; it had been that long.

"Ready?" I could barely contain myself.

"It really has been a while for you, hasn't it?" Zuko smirked, grabbing one of the swords.

"Heh, that easy to tell?" I grabbed the other, facing him and grabbing the other sword.

"You're kind of easy to read some times."

Zuko couldn't speak much after that. I moved quickly, slashing at his torso but he blocked with his wooden sword, the clashing wood echoing hollowly throughout the entire room. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a few passers-by stopping to watch.

I snapped back to the fight as Zuko lunged forward, and he would have caught my stomach if I hadn't spun to the side at the last second, bringing my weapon up to block again as he attacked just as quickly. I kicked sideways at his leg and caught him unprepared. Zuko stumbled back a bit and I took the opportunity to swipe at his neck.

Of course, he let his backward momentum carry him away from my attack and he caught himself on the ground with one hand, swinging his legs under mine and knocking me to the floor roughly.

"Oooh!"

I grinned. Zuko looked in surprise at the glass window, just noticing the growing crowd of spectators.

While he was distracted I leapt to my feet and slashed down at his stomach. Zuko spotted my movement out of the corner of his eye and rolled away, letting my sword strike the padded floor. He got to his feet and stepped into the ready stance across from me again.

"Having fun yet?" He asked, smirking.

"Oh yeah, tons! I like kicking your butt." I grinned.

"Really…?"

Zuko suddenly threw his sword at me, and I had to twist violently to the side to avoid the quickly spinning wood. I lost my balance and stumbled back to steady myself but by then Zuko had already covered the distance and sent a kick at my head. After that followed a quick flurry of punches and kicks.

The two of us were moving so quickly, and I was reacting to Zuko's attacks without thinking, that I didn't notice that any time had passed at all until I suddenly noticed how tired I was. I could see Zuko's face begin to show signs of exhaustion as well and I decided to try to wrap the fight up.

The crowd had grown outside, fluctuating over the time of the fight as people came and went. I could hear them banging on the windows sometimes and cheering loudly in the hall.

Zuko rushed me, leaning hard into his punch and I ducked. Using his momentum, I crouched and pushed him over my shoulder, flipping his body behind me. I caught him off guard and he went flying through the air a short ways before landing on the matt with a thud. I remained crouched, resting lightly on my toes and fingertips, and turned to face him. Zuko got to his feet and lunged at me again, this time ready for me when I tried to flip him.

He caught my arms and let his momentum knock us both over. Before I could recover he had pinned my arms and legs to the padded floor, and the match was over. I struggled a bit to see if I could get lose, but grinned after a moment, breathing heavily.

"Nice… match."

"I agree." Zuko smirked back at me. We were both pretty sweaty and breathing hard. Definitely time for a shower back home.

Outside I could hear the other students laughing and cheering. They apparently had really enjoyed our spar.

"Come on… let me up. We should head back to the house and clean up."

"Actually…" I raised my eyebrow suspiciously. Zuko was behaving weird. "… I'm kind of comfortable the way I am now." He grinned a little and moved his head closer.

My stomach did that strange flip it did every time he got that close. The boys outside the room noticed Zuko, and started making catcalls and _Oooh's_.

I started to panic. I didn't want to be kissed in front of all these people. In fact I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be kissed at all. But it looked like I wouldn't get much say in the matter. Zuko leaned in and kissed my lips. It wasn't long, only about a second, but it did the same thing as last time. I felt so weird, and I knew that when he pulled away and extended a hand to help me up that my face was flushed red.

When we both left the room the spectators bombarded us with pats on the back and more teasing. My face was flushed red, and I felt like shrinking into a corner. Instead, I put on a brave front and led the way back out of the gym. We walked in silence across the campus, until I finally broke the silence.

"Um… that was a fun match."

Zuko peered at me out of the corner of his eye. "It was."

More silence.

"Listen. Forgive me if my kiss upset you, but I'm not sorry." I looked at him, surprised again. "I really like you, and I just couldn't help it." My face felt hot again and I looked away, embarrassed.

"Well… next time…. – if there even _is_ a next time- I'd like to have a say in the matter. And I'd rather it not be in front of a crowd."

"Fair enough."

The walk to the duplex went quickly and I let Zuko shower in my bathroom first, while I worked a little on my homework. I'd left Zuko with one of his new outfits, and ordered him to show me when he came out.

"Kristen?"

I set my work down and turned around to take a look. A grin lit up my face, and then my eyes got big.

"Your hair!"

Zuko ran a hand awkwardly over his smooth head. "I… thought it was time. And standing out in your world isn't helping much either."

I was still surprised. "But… it's your hair! I mean, if you're anything like the Chinese culture, cutting your hair is a big deal!" Noticing the pained look on his face, I let it drop. "The clothes look really good on you. You blend in very well." I smiled.

"Thanks. I guess…"

"Oh come on. You do!" I got up and went into the kitchen. "Come on, you're going to help cook dinner. We can watch a movie and eat after that. I have some movies I think you might like."

"Those plays you were telling me about?"

I laughed. "Yeah, those _plays_. I'll show you some and you pick whichever ones interest you."

After setting out the ingredients, I showed Zuko how to make French Toast. It's pretty easy, and he caught on pretty well. Nearly ten minutes after we started, the toast was done and I went about setting out several DVD's.

"Mkay… I figured you'd most easily understand war movies since… well, war is pretty much the same everywhere. So I have The Last Samurai, Black Hawk Down, The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Braveheart, …" I continued listing off a few other similar movies. I didn't have a ton of war movies, since it was mostly me who watched them. Mikelle was more of the romance, drama movie person. And Zuko wouldn't grasp our comedy until he understood our culture somewhat. I figured historical war would help that a bit.

Zuko stood in silence over the cases, looking them over carefully. He finally pointed to The Last Samurai.

"This one looks a lot more like my world than the others. I think I would understand it more."

"I agree. And it will help to kind of bridge the differences between them, since it has some of my world's history."

"So this is true?"

"Eh… more or less. Lesson to you: don't trust movies right off the bat. They're usually wrong or twisting the truth."

I sent Zuko to grab some pillows and blankets from the closet and I set up the TV and DVD player. He came back in the room as the menu came up and stood frozen, staring at the screen.

I watched him a few moments while he took it in, then led him to the couch and pushed him down, tossing a pillow roughly at his head to jerk him back to reality.

"I told you, it's recorded. These are actors, and the whole technicality behind how they are "appearing in the screen" is way beyond you. So just accept what you see for now. Just enjoy the story."

"Very well."

I grinned. It was way too fun having someone from another, and if I say so, more primitive world visiting mine. I pressed the start button and the movie began. Throughout the whole thing Zuko was on the edge of the couch, staring intently at the screen. I knew he recognized much of the culture, possibly the writing, and maybe even the language. But I really couldn't tell, since the only language I'd heard spoken in his world was English.

And of course… I can't leave out the fact that it was a war movie. I mean, come on! How much better can it get? ((Sigh)) I love war movies… anyway. He was pretty wrapped up in the story; fight scenes, and the contrast of cultures. I always get teared up at the end, so I forced myself to keep dry eyes.

When the movie ended I glanced over at his face to see a glimmer of understanding.

_I guess I'm not the only one who gets this… it's comforting._

I cleared my throat to break the silence. Zuko snapped back to reality and cleared his throat.

"So… what's the next play you think I should watch?"

I laughed. "Another one?" I glanced at the clock. "Hm… it's not that late. I guess we could watch another one until Mikelle gets back from work." I looked over the movies again.

"Ah man. I want to watch Black Hawk Down… but you really wouldn't get it yet." I had noticed Zuko staring at the cover strangely. Probably confused by the helicopters. "We'll watch The Patriot. It's about my country's war for independence from Britain. If you're confused I'll explain it for you."

We spent the rest of the night watching the Patriot, as I explained the complicated history stuff. Mikelle got back from work around ten and finished the movie with us, then I helped Zuko make up his bed on the couch and we all went to sleep. As I lay in bed, for some reason I was getting nervous butterflies. Tomorrow I would be watching a show about a world that no one knew really existed… with one of the main characters from that world. Somehow, that's just really mind-boggling.


	5. ITH Chapter 4

The next day, Friday, went according to its usual schedule. I got up at six and took a shower, ate breakfast, grabbed my books and headed to class for the next three hours. I told Zuko when I'd be back, and threatened him with bodily harm if he burned a single thing in my house. By the time classes were through at noon I was tired.

"Oi vey!" I threw myself onto the sofa dramatically.

"Excuse me?"

I looked upside down to see Zuko peering at me from over a book cover.

"Oh, it's… just something I say. I think it's Italian. My dad says it, and my dad's dad says it… so now I say it. As far as I know, it's an expression for exhaustion." I turned myself over so I was looking at him right side up. "What're you reading?"

He showed me the cover. "Sun Tzu's Art of Warfare."

I grinned. "Awesome! I love that book."

Zuko cocked an eyebrow at me. "You've read it?"

"Yeah! I've always had a crazy obsession with Asian warfare. When I was fourteen, I saw the book at the library and decided to read it." His eyes widened in surprise.

"You decided to read it on your own?"

I laughed. "I'm weird like that… But yeah, I really liked it, and it got me thinking about stuff differently. I guess in a more military frame of mind."

A/N: Art of Warfare is a military strategy book… most of you would be bored stiff.

Zuko turned back to the book. "I think if you had my sister's personality, my father would want to adopt you."

I groaned. "Hopefully never!"

A smile flickered faintly at the corners of his mouth.

"So… want to watch another movie tonight?"

"Again?" I laughed.

"Well, yeah. We can watch whichever movie is next in your world's history."

I laughed even harder.

"You're hilarious. Typical guy."

So, as you can guess… We spent the afternoon watching Saving Private Ryan. When the movie was nearly over, Mikelle came in from her classes to find us glued to the screen.

"Oh. My. Goooosh." Mikelle groaned dramatically. Zuko and I both pulled our eyes from the screen to look at her. "You are both so _weird!_" She laughed, and I started grinning. Zuko just looked confused.

"What?"

"She's right… well, partly. Zuko's not weird. _I'm_ weird." I glanced at the clock. "We've still got a few hours before the show comes on." I felt anticipation butterflies in my stomach. "I'm going to get a head start on next week's homework, so… keep reading Sun Tzu if you want to." I noticed Mikelle wince out of the corner of my eye and I grinned.

It was hard to concentrate on my work knowing Zuko was in the next room, but I somehow managed to focus and get most of it done. Mikelle's boyfriend for four years called after an hour or so into my homework, and I couldn't concentrate anymore. She talked pretty loud on the phone, and had a tendency to wander so I finally put down my work. I wandered out into the living room to check on Zuko, glancing at my watch.

_Five… will it _ever_ be seven?_

I came to a stop, standing behind Zuko. He was still reading, and hadn't noticed me standing silently behind him. I held back a laugh and moved slowly and silently forward until I could whisper into his ear, then spoke loudly.

"Whatcha readin' now?"

He jumped in surprise, half leaping into a fighting stance and half attempting to hold his place in the book. I broke into laughter at the sight.

"Kristen!" Zuko's eyes were wide. "What were you _doing?_"

I shook my head, taking in deep breaths of air. "Sorry… couldn't resist when you didn't notice me."

Just then Mikelle stuck her head into the room. "Hey could you two keep it down? I can hardly hear Ryan."

"Yeah sure."

"Thanks." Mikelle's head disappeared around the corner. "Oh yeah!" She reappeared. "Do you want me to clean your room while I'm doing mine?"

"That'd be cool, thanks. I'll do your room next time."

She nodded, then disappeared.

"Well… I work tomorrow, so you won't see me for most of the day."

"I can't go with you?"

I laughed. "No. Way. You could get me fired!"

"What do you do?"

"I work at the Gap. Help people find clothes, take their money, and keep things clean."

"Well… I could help clean, at least."

"No, Zuko. You don't understand enough from my world to be able to help. Sorry, but… it's the truth. And I really don't want to draw attention to you." He looked crestfallen. "But… I'm sure I could talk Mikelle into letting you come visit during my break." Zuko's face lit up again.

"That would be great."

"Um… Kristen?"

Zuko and I both looked to Mikelle, standing in the hallway and holding my black and white mask with a very confused look on her face. "This was under your bed."

I looked ashamedly at Zuko, then went to Mikelle and took the mask from her and went into my room. "Thanks…" She followed, noticing the strange look on our faces.

"What was that about?" Mikelle asked once in the confines of my room, with the door closed.

I sighed. "I got this while in Zuko's world. I'd seen a mask he kept and thought it would be a good idea, a safety precaution, if I got one of my own. Turns out I did use it, but I really scared him. He was really worried about me and angry when he found out I was the person in the mask."

"How'd he find out?" Mikelle asked curiously, sitting on the edge of my bed.

I blushed.

"Nooo… Tell me!" She got the 'girly secrets about guys' look, and leaned forward excitedly."

"I just left it out one day, and he found it. That's all really!" My face was getting hotter.

"You're lying. There's more to it and you know it. Come on! Did you kiss?"

"Mikelle!"

"You did! I knew it!"

I hid my face in my hands in embarrassment.

"It was an accident… really."

"Uh huh…" Mikelle grinned. "Did he kiss you first?"

"Well, yeah! You know me; too shy to do anything like that."

I suddenly stopped talking and listened.

"What is it?" Mikelle followed my gaze to my bedroom door.

"Ah nothing." I was smirking slightly. I raised my hands and a faintly shimmering force field surrounded the two of us.

"What the heck?" Mikelle stood to her feet in panic, touching the hard surface. "What is this!"

"It's okay, I made a sound-proof shield around us. Zuko was listening at the door." I smiled widely and Mikelle laughed.

"Guys." Then a strange expression passed over her face. "This is so weird…"

"What is?"

"This! Your… force field thing! I mean, this only happens in movies and comic books! But here it is: my best friend, ordinary Kristen, created a force field." She sat silently and stared into space with a blank, contemplative expression.

"I know; it is weird. Something I'd always dreamed of actually happened to me. But it's the most impossible dream…" I let out a short laugh. "Ironic. That the impossible should happen."

Mikelle grinned half-heartedly, then glanced at the clock. "It's almost time for that show to be on."

I started in surprise and let the shield around us disintegrate as I moved toward the door rapidly. Zuko stumbled back in surprise when I yanked the door open and crossed the room quickly to the TV.

My fingers flying over the buttons, I set the TV to play Nickelodeon when the show started, then we waited. Zuko sat next to me, awkwardly at first, then relaxed when he realized I wasn't thinking about the overheard conversation. Only a few minutes later, Zuko was absorbed in the strange cartoon on TV: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

"Are these actual creatures in your world?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my daze. "Oh, no. These are strange creatures made up by kids. Imaginary friends. They're not real… and remember, TV doesn't always tell the truth." Zuko nodded.

"Hey Mikelle, are there any Snapples left in the fridge?"

"Um… I dunno let me go chec-"  
"Water. Earth. Fire. Air…."

"Sh! It's on!"

For the next half hour there wasn't a single sound in the entire house. The three of us sat glued in front of the TV, watching an episode about warriors from Kyoshi. I couldn't help but notice Zuko cringe every now and then, looking at himself. Of course, it was completely understandable… Zuko's kind of evil, or scary in a way.

The episode was over all too quickly, leaving us sitting in silence for a good minute before Mikelle broke the silence.

"Wow."

There was more silence for another minute, until I began softly laughing. Slowly, my laughter grew in volume until I could barely sit up, tears streaming out of my eyes. Zuko was looking at me like I was crazy.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing! It's just… this show! And… you! And… it's real! Haha..."

A smile began to tease the corners of Mikelle's mouth until she too was smiling widely.

"You're both crazy!" Zuko stood up in frustration and left the room in a royal huff.

"Oh come on! Zuko… haha! … come back!"

The door to my room slammed shut.


	6. ITH Chapter 5

"Hi, welcome to Gap! Can I help you find anything?"

Zuko peered around the huge store uneasily. "Uhhh…"

"Hey Sabah! He's with me. We're looking for Kristen." Mikelle came up behind the prince, startling him.

"Oh right! She's in Kids. You work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, three to ten. Thanks, see you later!"

Mikelle led Zuko through the Women's and Men's sections, around the clothing stands and other customers, and into Gap Kids.

"Hey Kristen!"

I looked up from folding a pile of shirts and smiled brightly.

"Hey! You came at a perfect time. There's almost no one here."

Zuko was busy staring at the children's' clothes and displays just as a little boy was standing beside him, staring at the prince.

"What happened to your face?"

I cringed and turned to Zuko, signaling him to keep from hurting the very rude, outspoken kid.

Zuko returned the kid's stare, then answered. "I was burned."

"You look like Prince Zuko. Sound like him too." The three of us stared open mouthed in shock. "You know…" the kid looked back at us. "The guy from Avatar."

"Um…" I couldn't think of what else to say. Really, the thought had never entered my mind that other people watched the show and might recognize Zuko. The kid finally got bored of our silence, rolled his eyes, and wandered off.

"Well…" Mikelle cleared her throat nervously. "Wasn't expecting that."

"Yeah." I looked around the section nervously, catching two other little kids staring at Zuko oddly. "I think they might recognize him too."

"Or they could be looking at his scar."

"His scar's on the opposite side; they can't see it."

"Oh."

"Hey stop talking about me like I'm not here!"

"Sorry…" I lowered my head in frustration. "So! What are your plans for the rest of the day, Zuko?"

"I don't know. I thought about walking to the gym and using one of their rooms to practice. But I wouldn't have anyone to spar with." He shot me a look.

"I'm sure you can figure it out. I mean, I've had to make do all this time by myself. I'm sure you can figure it out." I grinned mischievously.

"Hey Kristen! Chat on your fifteen or something." Sonny poked his head around the back wall. "Oh hey, dude! You look like this one cartoon character."

"You've seen Avatar!" Mikelle and I looked in shock at him. Sonny looked surprised.

"You know about that show? Yeah I've seen it. My uh… cousin made me watch it once with him." He noticed our disbelieving looks. "Yeah um… got some clothes to fold." Sonny disappeared, leaving us alone again.

"I think you should get back to work. I'll see you in a few hours when you get off." Zuko turned, signaling his visit was over.

Mikelle smiled sympathetically at me. "See you later!"

"Yup. See y'all. Thanks for stopping bye, too."

I got home after a few more hours at work to find the house empty and dark.

_I guess Zuko went to the gym… and Mikelle might have gone to visit Ryan._

After tossing my things in my room, I grabbed a drink from the refrigerator and headed for the back porch. The night was cool; perfect for relaxing outside. I slid the door open and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh air and stepping onto the cool cement.

A hand emerged from the darkness beside me and covered my mouth roughly. At first I was surprised and was pushed against the glass door, dropping my Coke on the ground with a muffled _clang_. A split second later I had regained my senses and threw my attacker off, pinning him to the ground in a few simple moves. Something fell from his grasp and clattered on the cement into the darkness.

"Who are you!" I whispered fiercely into his ear. I couldn't discern his features through the black mask and clothing, which allowed him to escape detection in the dark. "What do you want with me?"

Something small and sharp embedded itself into the back of my neck and I reached back to pull it out. I examined the small dart, then looked around for the shooter. A numb feeling began seeping into my arms and legs, and I struggled to keep my hold on the attacker but my grip weakened and it took no effort for him to push me to the ground where I lay dazed and unable to move. My thoughts were cloudy, and I felt unable to focus but struggled to fight the drug.

"Answer my questions. Where is the man who is staying with you?"

I continued to stare directly at the stars above me, silently. The man grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, shaking me slightly.

"Answer me! Where is the boy, Prince Zuko?" My eyes widened, but I held my silence.

The man's fingers tightened painfully around my throat and I gasped for air. Lights started dancing around the corners of my eyes and my chest hurt terribly from lack of air. He leaned in, whispering fiercely.

"Where. _Is_. He"

Just then the sound of Mikelle's car pulling into the driveway broke the tense silence. My attacker flinched, glanced between the front door and me, then pushed me roughly into the cement and disappeared into the black night. I lay on the ground, still numb and immobile, and gasping for air.

"Kristen?"

Mikelle noticed the lights had been turned on, and wandered through the empty house.

"Kristen."

She saw the open sliding door and took a step closer. "Kristen?" I coughed faintly. "Kristen! Oh my gosh, Kristen!"

She rushed onto the porch, leaning over me in a panic.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Should I call the hospital? What happened!"

I shook my head, signaling her to be silent, then spoke in a barely audible voice.

"Someone attacked me. Shot me with a stun dart or something. Wanted Zuko. Left when you came home."

"Where is Zuko?"

I shook my head again. "I don't know. I think the gym?"

"Kristen?" Mikelle and I both looked to see Zuko standing in the doorway, worry and anger written all over his face. "What happened! Who did this?"

"It's okay. He's gone now." I attempted to sit up feebly, but my arms and legs still weren't working. Zuko moved forward and picked me up with ease. Mikelle followed him into the house, shutting the door behind her as Zuko laid me on the couch.

"What happened. Tell me!" He stood beside the couch, tense and angry.

"Don't do anything stupid. I came home and walked outside where someone attacked me. Someone else shot me with a stun dart when I fought back. He wanted to know where you were." Zuko's face paled, his eyes widening.

"_Me_!"

I nodded, still regaining movement as the drug slowly wore off.

"I don't know how they know you're here… I didn't think anyone else knew."

Mikelle thought for a moment. "Do you think anyone else saw him at the Gap? And what about the security cameras? It's possible someone noticed him."

"That's true… but, why would anyone care!" I finally managed to move my arm with ease.

"Maybe because I am supposed to be a character in a show, not a real person."

"Maybe. Sounds logical, anyway. But why would the producers or owners send some ninja guy after you?"

Mikelle laughed faintly. "Because he's dangerous?"

I grinned. "Say, where were you anyway?"

"I went to the gym and practiced. More people watched."

"You didn't firebend, did you?" I asked, worriedly.

Zuko gave me the _I'm not stupid_ look.

I sat up on the couch, dizzily at first, but then my vision caught up with me and I felt better. "My arms still feel numb …" I shook them out, in a futile attempt to feel something.

"Where is it? The dart? Maybe we can find out something useful by it." Mikelle spoke as she went to the kitchen to get me some water.

"It's out on the patio." Zuko peered closely at the ground for a few seconds, then picked the small object up.

"This it?" He examined it closer when I nodded. "This looks too small to cause any damage.

I chuckled softly. "Well, all it needs is a little bit of a drug and it's perfectly useful." After drinking some water, I carefully made my way to the patio. Resting on my knees, I peered around at the surrounding area.

"What are you looking for?" Zuko asked from inside the doorway.

"I'm looking… for this." I held up a black knife, the one my attacker had lost when I overpowered him. Holding it in the light, I examined it closely. "There. I'd hoped so."

"What is it?" Mikelle came closer too, curious.

"I was hoping the guy would have some sort of name or identifier on it, in case it got lost." Suddenly, I grinned. "This guy is a really _sucky_ agent. He wrote a return address on his knife. _Really_ stupid."

Zuko's eyes widened, and Mikelle grinned.

"Subdivision of Viacom International Inc.

Dallas Office: JM Animation Co., LTD.

Martial Arts Consultant- M. Taylor."


	7. Note!

Hey everyone! I just realized that I haven't updated the story yet… and then I realized: Oh no! Crap! Out of backup chapters! Soo, that means I have to finish the one I'm writing now. ((cringe)) In other words, hang in there! I'm being busy with working and a certain guy, and my friends before my life disappears into school again. Thanks for being so faithful!

SL


	8. ITH Chapter 6

A/N: Hey everyone! So so so sorry it's taken me so long to write this. My only excuse is laziness and (unfortunately) a writer's block. But! I will keep writing, and soon we will reach the conclusion of this exciting story! Stick around, and we'll see the end. Thanks so much for continuing to review, and encourage me! – SL

"Hello, how can I help you?" The receptionist peered over her thin wire rims disdainfully at the three teenagers in front of her. I smiled politely.

"Hello. My uncle works here, but I don't know his exact office." The lady still looked at us condescendingly, but her derision was less than before. "You see, he works in the martial arts department. As a consultant… M. Taylor?"

She sighed and typed something on her computer. A few moments later, she found what she had been looking for.

"The fifteenth floor is the Martial Arts department. Your uncle is in office B24."

"Thank you so much!" I smiled widely, and led the way to the elevators.

"I learn something new about you every day, Kristen." Mikelle shook her head in awe as the thick metal doors closed. Zuko jumped in alarm when the structure began its upward ascent.

"Hey, there's a side to me that hardly anyone ever sees." I grinned at Zuko's discomfort. "At least the elevator isn't glass." Mikelle laughed outright.

"Don't worry, it's safe." She attempted to reassure the nervous prince. He clung to the wooden bars around the outside of the elevator, watching the floors tick by on the dial.

Shortly afterward, the doors slid open on the fifteenth floor. The three of us wandered down the hall, drawing many strange glances as we passed workers and artists in cubicles and offices.

"_B24… B24… B24…"_ I muttered to myself, looking at the plaque on each office door.

"There it is." Zuko pointed across the room filled with the small, separated workspaces. Mikelle and I followed him as he made his way across the room, determined. I noticed several people's eyes widen slightly, making a surprising connection between this boy and a certain cartoon character.

"B24… Mark Taylor."

The three of us stopped in front of the office, unsure of what step to take next.

"Well…" Mikelle broke the silence, but we still stood there.

Finally, Zuko reached out and twisted the door handle, opening the door on a surprised Mr. Taylor typing up a report on his computer.

"Can I help you?" The three of us filed into the room and closed the door before I got to the point.

"I think this may be yours." I tossed the knife loosely at his desk, the point imbedding itself in several papers with a _thud_. His wide eyes went from the black knife, to me, to Zuko, to the knife again. "You must be new at this sort of thing. Leaving a return address on your instruments is a mistake not even a beginning professional would make." I folded my arms and raised my eyebrow.

"Look… uh… " The man stood, hands held out appealingly in front of him.

Zuko double-checked that the door was shut before stepping forward. "No excuses, just tell us what you were doing looking for me and attacking her." His eyes sparked fire, and Taylor flinched.

"Alright, alright! Just listen… have a seat?"

The three of us sat in the various chairs in front of his desk and along the side of his small office.

"Now… let me explain. It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone. I figured that, someone who would keep Zuko around must be dangerous and I figured violence would be the best action. I didn't know he was staying by choice."

"Didn't do your background work, apparently." Mikelle muttered.

"Please… as I was saying." Taylor was sweating, fidgeting with everything and wringing his hands together. "We – that is, Nickelodeon studios- recently became aware of Zuko's presence here. Footage of him at the Gap further proved our point and we knew we had to act fast."

"What's the big deal though? So what if he's here?" I asked.

"You don't understand. Zuko now exists on two planes of reality. This is in total opposition to the boundaries of reality! You have to understand… someone can't exist simultaneously in two places. He exists in the show: in our world, the fake cartoon world, but also in the physical, reality where we all live. Do you understand this?"

"I… suppose so, yes."

"Alright. Okay." He now leaned forward onto his desk, hands clasped earnestly in front of him, almost like he was begging the three of us to understand. "Because the balance between these realities has been thrown off, they will begin attempting to correct it. Things will… start to change. Already, our people have begun to notice strange occurrences, rips in space… it will steadily get worse the longer Zuko exists in this world."

"But why can't he just stop existing in the other world and stay in this one?" Mikelle leaned forward in her chair.

"Because he existed there first, and even if we end the show here, he will still exist in our history… we can't erase that."

"Look, how are we even supposed to send him back? We don't know how we got into each other's worlds in the first place!"

Taylor looked startled. "You've been to his world?"

"Yeah, I assumed you knew that. But then again, I shouldn't have assumed as much from you guys." After all, they had assumed Mikelle and I were dangerous before even checking into our background.

"How is that possible? "

"I don't know, you tell me! Maybe we'll be able to figure out how to get Zuko back to his world then."

"Actually… we do have a theory and the fact that you've been to his world already further strengthens it. We think that he has emotional ties to someone of this world, something that could bridge into this dimension and apparently it was enough to pull him through. As to how you got there… well, I have no theories as to that." He was lost in thought for a moment, the silence stretching out. Zuko brought him back to the situation.

"So what is your idea for sending me home?"

"It's simple. If an emotional tie brought you here, it's only logical to sever that tie and then there will be nothing to hold you here."

The thought of destroying the relationship between Zuko and I stunned me. I hadn't ever considered that it would shock me, or trouble me so much… but it did. I really liked him! Did I? Or was I really just taken with the idea of Zuko liking me back?

Unconsciously, my head slipped down into my hands. Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed Zuko's clenched fists. Not what he wanted to hear, apparently.

I raised my head and looked directly at Taylor. "So you're telling us that I have to pretty much cut off all emotion I feel for Zuko, break off our friendship so that he can go back home and stop the general decay of our reality?"

The man paused silently in thought, then nodded solemnly. "That's about it. I'm really sorry: it must be something strong. This doesn't feel right either, but it's the only way to save … well, the world."


End file.
